| Oligotoma nigra | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Embioptera |
| Family: | Oligotomidae |
| Genus: | Oligotoma |
| Species: | O. nigra [1] |
| Binomial name | |
| Oligotoma nigra [1] Hagen, 1885 [2] | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Oligotoma nigra, also known as the black webspinner, is a species of insect in the order Embiidina, also known as Embioptera. [1]
The adult of this species tends to be entirely dark brown or black. They reach approximately 9mm in length. Females tend to be redder in body color than males are. Only adult males have wings and are capable of flying. [3] Adult males, unlike adult females, have an affinity for light. [4] The nymphs are much paler than adults, and they darken in color as they mature. [3]
The entire life cycle of the black webspinner is typically completed within a year. They are a hemimetabolous insect species, meaning that they have incomplete metamorphosis. During developmental stages the nymphs produce silk from silk glands. The glands are located on the basal segment of the foretarsus. they use this ability to create silk tunnels for protection from predators and to store food. Eggs are laid within the silk tunnels. When the nymphs hatch they expand the network of tunnels. This network continues to expand as the insect matures. The vast majority of their life is spent within the silk tunnel. [3]
This insect is originally from India; however, it is now found in other parts of the world. In America, it can be found from Texas to California up to Utah, covering much of the southwest region of the United States. It was most likely introduced to North America in the late 1800s during the shipping of date palm cuttings from the Persian Gulf Region. [5]
During the day they spend most of their lives in silk tunnels beneath a rock or structure nearby a food source. In gardens their food source is frequently grass or some type of ornamental plant. [3] They are often found near the base of palm trees, [6] emerging from their tubes to feed on debris, dead plant material, mosses and lichens. [3]
Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remnants of the old, empty exoskeleton are called exuviae.
Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the plant has three main species ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry, with numerous cultivars, but more than 200 species are identified in taxonomy. The name “white mulberry” came about because the first specimens named by European taxonomists were a cultivated mutation prized for their white fruit, but wild trees bear black fruit like other mulberries. White mulberry is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America. It is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.
The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies. Gulf fritillary is the only member of genus Agraulis.
The hooded oriole is a medium-sized New World oriole. The male of this species ranges in color from a bright orange to a paler yellow, with a black back, face, tail and bib, with the wing containing two white bars. The female is more of an olive color with some yellow accents.
Papilio troilus, the spicebush swallowtail or green-clouded butterfly, is a common black swallowtail butterfly found in North America. It has two subspecies, Papilio troilus troilus and Papilio troilus ilioneus, the latter found mainly in the Florida peninsula. The spicebush swallowtail derives its name from its most common host plant, the spicebush, members of the genus Lindera.
The eastern mole or common mole is a medium-sized, overall grey North American mole and the only member of the genus Scalopus. Its large, hairless, spade-shaped forefeet are adapted for digging. The species is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the eastern United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole.
Panchlora nivea, the Cuban cockroach or green banana cockroach, is a small species of cockroach found in Cuba and the Caribbean, and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, and has been observed as far north as Summerville, South Carolina. It is found in subtropical or tropical climates.
The order Embioptera, commonly known as webspinners or footspinners, are a small group of mostly tropical and subtropical insects, classified under the subclass Pterygota. The order has also been called Embiodea or Embiidina. More than 400 species in 11 families have been described, the oldest known fossils of the group being from the mid-Jurassic. Species are very similar in appearance, having long, flexible bodies, short legs, and only males having wings.
The harlequin cabbage bug, also known as calico bug, fire bug or harlequin bug, is a black stinkbug of the family Pentatomidae, brilliantly marked with red, orange, yellow and white markings. It is a major pest of cabbage and related crops in the Brassicaceae, as well as the ornamental flower cleome throughout tropical and North America, especially the warmer parts of the United States. Nymphs are active during the summer and in the tropics the bug can achieve three to six generations a year. In the northern range there is only one generation annually and the insects overwinter as adults in crop residues or field edges. Organic control involves hand-picking the insects off the plants and being especially careful to remove and destroy all the eggs, which are black-and-white striped, laid in clutches of twelve.
The differential grasshopper is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is found throughout northern Mexico, the central United States and southern Ontario, Canada. It is considered a pest over most of its range.
Jalmenus evagoras, the imperial hairstreak, imperial blue, or common imperial blue, is a small, metallic blue butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is commonly found in eastern coastal regions of Australia. This species is notable for its unique mutualism with ants of the genus Iridomyrmex. The ants provide protection for juveniles and cues for adult mating behavior. They are compensated with food secreted from J. evagoras larvae. The ants greatly enhance the survival and reproductive success of the butterflies. J. evagoras lives and feeds on Acacia plants, so butterfly populations are localized to areas with preferred species of both host plants and ants.
Archipsocus nomas is a web-spinning barklouse, a psocid in the insect family Archipsocidae. It is found in the southeast of the United States, living gregariously on trees, feeding on and lichen and fungi and spinning a web that adheres to the trunk and large branches in sheets. The webs are thought to protect the barklice from predators and neither the insects nor the webs cause damage to the trees.
Taeniopoda eques, the western horse lubber grasshopper, is a relatively large grasshopper species of the family Romaleidae found in the arid lower Sonoran life zone of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Northern populations are identifiable by their shiny black bodies and black and yellow reticulated forewings. Some southern populations are yellow in the adult stage. The species is unique in using its black coloration to thermoregulate and in being chemically defended. The aposematic coloration warns vertebrate predators of its unpalatability and allows the grasshopper to roost conspicuously upon desert shrubs.
Sungaya is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing the species Sungaya inexpectata. Its common name is the sunny stick insect, derived from the less commonly used sungay stick insect. The genus name refers to the locality of the holotype, i.e. the region where the insect was first identified. The species name is derived from the Latin as "inexpectatus" and means "unexpected".
Anurogryllus arboreus, the common short-tailed cricket or arboreal short-tailed cricket, is a species of cricket in the family Gryllidae. It is native to the southern and south-eastern United States where it lives in a burrow that it digs.
Oligotoma is a genus of webspinners, insects in the order Embiidina, also known as Embioptera. The type species is Oligotoma saundersii and the type locality the Indian subcontinent. The males have wings but the females are flightless. Embiids are recognisable by the enlarged front tarsi, which contain a large number of silk glands that they use to spin the threads they use for building the tubes and galleries in which they live.
Oligotoma saundersii, commonly known as Saunders' embiid, is a species of webspinner, an insect in the order Embiidina, also known as Embioptera.
Aposthonia ceylonica is a species of webspinner of the family Oligotomidae native to tropical Asia, Madagascar and Mauritius. In February 2019, a colony of this insect was identified in a greenhouse at the RHS Garden, Wisley, Surrey, England, on the roots of an orchid. It was thought that the insects had been accidentally introduced on plants imported from Thailand.
Rhagadochir virgo is a species of webspinner, an insect in the order Embiidina, also known as Embioptera. This species is native to the Republic of the Congo in tropical West Africa.
Antipaluria urichi is a species of webspinner in the family Clothodidae. It is found in the Caribbean region and South America, the type locality being the island of Trinidad.